How to Navigate Boat Buying Online

By Pete McDonald.

Use these tips to leverage the wealth of digital information and get the best deal when buying your next boat.

These days, you can order just about anything—from tacos to socks to barbecue grills—with the click of a button and have it delivered to your doorstep. It might be tempting, then, to take advantage of technology in making your next boat purchase. And you should—but there are still advantages to going brick-and-mortar, either by walking the aisles of your local boat show or paying a visit to a reputable boat dealership. Here’s a quick rundown on how to navigate buying your next boat in the digital age.

Research Rules

A good way to start your research is by asking general questions in search engines (or even an AI app) to find out which type of boat best serves your needs. Once you get the style down, pick a few manufacturers and head directly to their websites. Many builders have a “build my boat” prompt that will let you pick an engine as well as any options you’d like and, in the end, provide you with a national manufacturer’s suggested retail price. With that, you can build a ­comparison framework to see which boat fits into your budget and which ­builder offers the most bang for your buck. (What comes ­standard on one could be an option on ­another.) The caveat is that a suggested retail price is not set in stone, and the price you ­actually pay will likely be ­negotiated ­between you and your local dealer. Also, the dream boat that you assemble on the website might not be available in anyone’s inventory, and so you might have to settle for what’s available on a dealer’s showroom floor or schedule a build that could take months to complete.